Centralia's Christian Peters battles for the rebound during Evergreen 2A Conference boys basketball action against Black Hills Friday, Jan. 29, 2016 in Centralia.
Centralia's Deter Voetberg brings the ball up the court during Evergreen 2A Conference boys basketball action against Black Hills Friday, Jan. 29, 2016 in Centralia.
Centralia's Cale Shute reaches for the rebound during Evergreen 2A Conference boys basketball action against Black Hills Friday, Jan. 29, 2016 in Centralia.
The Tigers got a bit worn down at the end, and Black Hills took advantage.
The Wolves got 30 points and nine assists from point guard T.J. Mickelson — including a key pair of 3-pointers — to rally past Centralia, 69-66, in overtime Evergreen 2A Conference basketball action Friday in the Hub City.
Mickelson knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner with 31 seconds left that sent the game into overtime, and opened the extra four-minute period with another triple to give Black Hills a lead it wouldn’t relinquish.
“Their defense was tough on us,” Tiger coach Ron Brown said. “They took Christian (Peters) out of it, which was a good strategy on their part.”
Peters scored 13 in the first half and added a 3 early in the third quarter, but wouldn’t score again. Nolan Wasson led the Tigers with 17 points, adding nine rebounds and four assists, with 15 points in the first half. Layne Pertzborn scored 13 and Deter Voetberg and Cale Shute each added 10, putting each of the Tigers’ starters in double figures.
Centralia led 36-25 at halftime, but the Wolves kept a closer eye on Peters in the second half and the Tigers’ scoring slowed.
“I don’t think we showed good judgement finding people open inside,” Brown said. “We’ve got two players that are neglected more than they should be in Shute and Pertzborn, and they’re good shooters in their area. I think we need a little more confidence in them.”
Black Hills went on a 13-1 run late in the third quarter, and added a 7-0 run early in the fourth — capped by a 3 from Joe Crumley — to take its first lead at 53-52.
The Tigers were able to push the lead back out to 59-55 on a leaning jumper from Wasson, only to see Black Hills knot it back at 59. Pertzborn grabbed his own miss and scored, and Voetberg added a foul shot, to put the lead back at 62-59 with just over a minute left.
Shortly after Mickelson’s tying 3, Centralia wound up with the ball out of bounds with 10.3 seconds left. The teams each called timeouts, and the Tigers got the ball inbounds but couldn’t get a final attempt off before the regulation horn sounded.
Mickelson then hit a 3 on the Wolves’ first possession, and drove in for a layup with 37 seconds left that gave Black Hills a 69-64 lead.
Voetberg hit a long 2 on the other end, and Centralia immediately fouled Mickelson — on Voetberg’s fifth foul, bringing his night to a close — who missed the front end of a 1-and-1.
The Tigers’ final long-range attempt, however, didn’t draw rim.
Centralia subbed just twice, sending in Isaiah Trevino in relief of Voetberg late in the first half and in overtime.
“Adrenaline will carry you, but it’d have been nice to have a sub,” Brown said. “Not to be mean about the guys that are on the bench, but a player that’s expecting to play, a player that could have gone in and contributed, so that definitely hurt us.”
The Tigers outrebounded Black Hills 29-19, with Shute adding eight rebounds and Voetberg grabbing six.
Black Hills shot 28 of 57 (49 percent) from the field, with Noah Brewer adding 14 points. The win moved the Wolves into a tie with Centralia for second in the EvCo standings.
Centralia (8-10, 2-2 league) hosts Tumwater on Tuesday and closes out the regular season at W.F. West on Thursday.
